The cost of insurance is on the rise: the price for auto insurance rose 3.6% between 2011 and 2012, and 3.1% for homeowners and renter’s insurance, according to the Insurance Information Institute. In fact, auto liability insurance premiums alone have been increasing by 2.8% annually for the past three years. This makes choosing the right coverage and provider all the more crucial to save money without sacrificing important aspects of coverage.

To build the car insurance ranking, we surveyed 2,799 consumers who filed a car insurance claim in the last five years. Respondents provided this data based on their experience with their car insurance company, answering questions about their satisfaction with the ease of filing a claim, customer service, claim status communication, claim resolution, overall value they feel their insurance company gives, if they’d recommend the company, and if they planned to renew their policy.

To calculate the added cost in purchasing comprehensive and/or collision coverage we looked at annual insurance quotes for a 30 year old male from New York across four different insurance companies, and the ten best-selling vehicles in the US. We look at the range of rates you could pay from basic liability to policy plans with comprehensive and collision coverage. Collision typically costs more than comprehensive, although some companies require you to carry both rather than just one. Comparing quotes across at least three companies can get you lower car insurance rates.
Health insurance is now available to more Americans than ever before. Subsidized options are easily available to low-income individuals and families. In the past, many people took the risk of not being insured, but with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) you can be fined if you don't have qualified health care insurance. Instead of paying a fine, people who have not been able to afford insurance before are looking for affordable medical insurance options.
Once you know the approximate value of your car and the cost to carry collision coverage, then you can make an informed decision about purchasing that coverage. Many people find that it's a good idea to cover newer cars, but as cars get older, their values decrease, and you might consider omitting or dropping this coverage to save money on your auto insurance.
One way to do this is to call the insurance company and see what the hold time is and what the service is like when you wait to speak to a representative about a general inquiry. If the hold time is 3 hours and they don’t seem like an accommodating group, you’re probably not going to want to deal with them after you just lost your house and file a claim.
Allstate: Allstate is the eighth-best insurance company, with many Allstate customers in our survey reporting that they didn’t feel like they were in good hands. Allstate customers were particularly unhappy with the value they felt they got from Allstate, with many of them saying they wouldn’t recommend Allstate and didn’t plan to renew their policies.
To help you figure out if you should purchase collision coverage, you should estimate the approximate value of your vehicle. While there are a number of online resources that can help with this, including Kelley Blue Book, we recommend you speak with a State Farm® agent. In addition to helping you determine the value of your vehicle, our agents can tell you how much extra you'd pay to add collision coverage.
The best car insurance companies have a few things in common: They have straightforward shopping experiences, take good care of policyholders after a crash and treat their customers with respect and courtesy. That means only insurers with high customer satisfaction scores and relatively few complaints to insurance commissioners make it to the top of our list of the best auto insurance companies.
Allstate is more reasonable in terms of pricing, and came out cheapest for drivers under 25 according to our quotes. Both J.D. Power and Consumer Reports readers rated it just a hair lower than State Farm overall, but at the top for claims satisfaction. So we were puzzled to see its complaint index was the highest by far among the top five, and the only one considered above average for all Texas insurers. Since the most common consumer complaint is that payments are too low, it seems likely that Allstate is stingier in its claims determinations than most companies. Its financial strength, while not quite top-tier, is good enough that you’ll never have to worry about getting paid; the bigger question is whether you’ll be satisfied with the amount.
Personal injury or bodily injury protection, which is often a part of full coverage car insurance, covers medical costs for you, your passengers, or other people injured in an accident. This type of coverage is required by most states, but keep in mind that the legal requirement may be too low for real world application. As medical costs soar, a policy that only pays out $30,000 is not likely to be enough, and you will be responsible for any difference between what your policy pays and what the actual medical costs are. It’s tempting to skimp on this coverage, but that can be a costly mistake.
Health insurance is now available to more Americans than ever before. Subsidized options are easily available to low-income individuals and families. In the past, many people took the risk of not being insured, but with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) you can be fined if you don't have qualified health care insurance. Instead of paying a fine, people who have not been able to afford insurance before are looking for affordable medical insurance options.
Progressive Home Advantage® policies are placed through Progressive Advantage Agency, Inc. with affiliated and third-party insurers who are solely responsible for claims, and pay PAA commission for policies sold. Prices, coverages, privacy policies, and PAA's commission vary among these insurers. How you buy (phone, online, mobile, or independent agent/broker) determines which insurers are available to you. Click here for a list of the insurers or contact us for more information about PAA's commission. Discounts not available in all states and situations.